Ashe's and Rem's Adventures in Middle-Earth
by MercedesAsheSorrel
Summary: "But I thought you wanted some adventure!" whined Ashe. "Here is one right in front of us and you want to pass it by! Rem sighed and shook her head thinking once again to herself that this was probably not a good idea. A sort of modern AU where two college girls find themselves in Middle-Earth. OC's and Romance. Enjoy! Written for Kurem!
1. Searching For Adventure

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY KUREM!**

**This was written as a birthday present for the most amazing girl in the world, Kurem! I can't say enough how blessed I am to have met her!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Tolkien's.  
**

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Ashe's And Rem's Adventures In Middle Earth

Searching For Adventure

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The two college girls talked constantly trying to ease their worry as they wound their way further and further down the unknown tunnels of Edinburgh's Vaults trying to find their way to the surface.

They had abandoned their tour guide and the beaten path after discovering the tunnel they were now following. The guide had said that it was a recently discovered addition to the Vaults and the historians hadn't yet had the chance to fully explore how far it reached or what it contained. Both girls had looked at each other and grinned. Having come to Scotland for adventure, this seemed like the perfect opportunity and the girls couldn't resist the temptation. So after a short while of listening to the guide ramble on about how the Vaults were said to have disturbing paranormal activities at night, they drifted towards the back of the group and slowly made their way to the mouth of the tunnel and peered inside.

"Ashe...Are you sure this is a good idea?" We don't know what could be down there."

"What?! Are we having second thoughts Rem? It'll be fine! What could possibly be down there beside cobwebs and maybe some spiders? Or are you afraid of the ghosts that are meant to be floating around, soulless and without hope of continuing on to the afterlife?" Ashe teased, quoting what the tour guide had said.

Rem cut her eyes at her friend. Sure, when they had met over the internet several months ago, Ashe had warned her of her reckless streak that always seemed to surface at the precise wrong moment. Being more level headed and even keeled, Rem tended to think about what she was doing before she jumped into a potentially dangerous situation. Anything could be down there. Who knew what was living down there or other dangers that might present themselves along the way. Rem glanced at Ashe who was inching closer to the tunnel entrance peering inside. Rem felt very protective of this girl who was nearly five years her junior. Rem sighed.

"You know that I don't believe in paranormal activity, Ashe. But just think for a moment. Yes, there is probably nothing more down there other than cobwebs and spiders, but what if the flooring is unstable? What if the roof collapses? No one would know where we are and my phone doesn't work down here, so if something happens we will be completely without help." Rem said evenly. She watched as Ashe's face fall slightly before adding, "It's not that I wouldn't like to explore it, but I think that the dangers outweigh the fun we would have."

"But I thought you wanted some adventure!" whined Ashe. "Here is one right in front of us and you want to pass it by! If we don't hurry that irritating tour guide will come back looking for us and then we really won't have the chance to explore because he'll just say that it's off limits as of yet!"

"He would only be saying that because it would be dangerous! So thank you for proving my point!"

Ashe huffed at her friend's logic. Sometimes it was a pain having logical friends. She decided to try one last time.

"Oh come on, Rem! We would be the first to ever enter this historic site, think of all the photos you could take! We don't have to go but so far in! Please? We both sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in search of adventure, we can't turn back now!" said Ashe, employing her best puppy eyes as a last ditch effort.

Rem wanted to point out that sailing to a foreign country was an adventure itself, but chose not to. And she did have to admit that the prospect of taking photos of a place that had yet to be seen by modern man certainly did interest her, but it was far too risky. She turned to face her waywardly impulsive friend to tell her once again that _She_ wasn't going down that tunnel, but made the mistake of looking into Ashe's eyes. Seeing the pathetic puppy eyes that Ashe had perfected against her elder brothers, she gave in.

"Alright, alright, but not that far!" she said trying to sound put out but at the same time grinning at the triumphant look on Ashe's face and the exclamation of victory that came from her mouth,

"Yes! Score! Another point for the Unconquerable Puppy Eyes!"

"But if I feel it's time to go back, we go back!" said Rem sternly, asserting her big sisterly disposition over Ashe.

Ashe hurriedly agreed to whatever Rem was saying without really listening, as her excitement was almost too much to bear, and was chomping at the bit to get going. Rem sighed and shook her head thinking once again to herself that this was probably not a good idea...

...That was how they found themselves hours later, completely turned around with no way to get out. They had been using Rem's phone as a flashlight but the battery was running low and wouldn't last much longer. To be honest both girls were surprised that it had lasted this long. At first it had been fun, Ashe lead the way with the light pushing the cobwebs out of the way, while Rem snapped photo after photo. But that had been then, when it was still a fun little excursion, now both girls were getting worried. They didn't have any food and Ashe only had a half full water bottle in her backpack. Ashe had tried to keep up a steady stream of mindless chatter to fill the silence, but soon her voice dropped to a whisper, and then she grew silent. Both girls jumped at the telltale ding from the phone as it let them know that it only had ten percent charge left. Within fifteen minutes, the bright little LED went out plunging the girls into total darkness.

Ashe began to tremble; Rem could feel Ashe's shoulders shaking from where they were touching. Rem clenched her fists and then released them slowly. She couldn't even be angry at her friend for this one. If she, herself, had just put her foot down and said no, then neither of them would be in this mess! Rem pocketed the phone and reached out and touched Ashe. After finding her shoulders, Rem wrapped an arm around them and said encouragingly.

"It's okay, we will find a way out of here, alright?"

She felt Ashe nod beside her.

"Good..." Rem paused for a minute. "Well we may as well keep walking down the corridor that we are in, since there is no point going back the way we came. Come on. Hold my hand, I'll go first."

Ashe nodded even though, Rem couldn't see her and followed blindly. She felt bad for having put Rem in this position. It was all her fault! If she hadn't acted like a little brat and listened to reason then they would be in this mess! She sighed and stumbled over sometime hard. She cursed as she fell forward. Rem caught her before she could hit the ground and pulled her back up. With a few murmured apologies from Ashe and several demands from Rem wanting to know if she was alright, they set out again. The going was slow, both girls carefully choosing each step they took for fear that they might twist an ankle or fall down an unseen hole. They both trembled in the darkness, taking what little comfort they could from each other as they walked through the blackness hand in hand.

They had been walking for days it seemed to Ashe. They had long since drank all the water and both were beginning to feel the effects of exhaustion. After a short break, they moved on. Rem was beginning to worry that they would never get out, but she didn't voice her fears. Ashe was already scared enough, even if she was trying to put up a brave front, Rem could still feel her shaking. A small sob echoed against the corridor.

"Ashe? Ashe...don't cry..."

"I'm sorry! It's my fault we're even down here!"

"Hey, that's not true! I could have said no, and I didn't. I went along. It's my fault too!"

"Technically you did say no, more than once! If I wasn't so stubborn about it then we would be just fine right now!"

"It doesn't matter whose fault is or was now. The only chance we've got to get out of here is to keep moving." said Rem.

"What if we can't get out?" Ashe whispered.

"We will." said Rem, with more confidence than she felt. "But to do that we've got to keep moving!"

"Okay..."

They set off at a quick walk each keeping a hand on the wall and on each other. They hit a dead end and had to stumble back blindly the way they came until Ashe found a side tunnel. They followed it. The further down they went, the narrower the tunnel got and soon the two were obliged to walk single file. In some places it was so narrow that they had to walk sideways to get through it. Ashe came to a sudden stop and Rem accidentally bumped into her. She was about to ask what was wrong when a strangely familiar sound made her stop.

"Was that..."began Rem.

"Wind!" said Ashe excitedly. "That was the sound of wind blowing through one the tunnels! It sounds like it's coming from up ahead."

Ashe grabbed Rem's hand and took the lead. The sound got louder the further in they went and they both hoped that they would soon reach the outside. They stopped and listened for a moment. The sound of wind was at it's loudest where they were standing. feeling around they searched for the opening where the wind was coming from. Taking several steps away from Rem, but still within arms reach, Ashe felt the wall to the left. Her hand caught on the wall and she felt cold air brush her palm. Feeling more carefully, she found that it was a tunnel but it was very narrow. She turned back to grab Rem when a few rocks shifted under her feet. She froze.

"Rem..Rem stop!" whispered Ashe in a scared tone.

"What is it?"

"T-the ground, it-it doesn't feel very solid to me."

"Step back very slowly..." said Rem, gently pulling Ashe backwards, trying to control the fear that was rising up in her chest.

There was a loud cracking noise and then the floor began to rumble and shake. Rem tried to pull Ashe away as quickly as she could, but before they get far back enough, the stone split and with a shriek, they both fell into the abyss.

Rem blinked back the stars that filled her vision, and she tried to sit up. Noticing something wet trickling down the side of her neck, she touched a finger to it. It was warm and sticky so she could only assume that it was blood. Feeling around her neck and ear she found the souce of the blood from a long cut behind her ear. She was just about to rip up her sleeve to make a make-shift bandage, when she heard a painfilled scream.

"Ashe! Where are you?! Ashe please answer me!" cried Rem.

She tried to stand, but when Rem discovered that her legs wouldn't support her wieght, she began to crawl towards where she could best figure the scream had come from. She heard a few whimpers and she called out again.

"Ashe? Ashe where are you? You've got to help me here! I can't see and the only thing I've got going for me is my hearing! You've got to let me know where you are!" Rem said. She tried to keep the fear out of her voice but it shook anyway.

"O-over here..."

Rem's head turned to the left and she heard the sound of pebbles being moved. Ashe screamed again.

"Ashe, don't move! You will just make your injury worse!" said Rem, as she crawled in the direction of the sound. "Just keep talking. Tell me what hurts."

"M-m-my leg...and-and my b-back..."

Rem drew her breath in sharply. Back injuries were bad, and it could be paralyzing. Trying to move a little faster, Rem felt a sharp rock cut her palm. She gasped in pain, but didn't stop moving. Reaching out with her hand she felt around for a moment but when she didn't feel anything, she was about to move on when a few rocks shifted right beside her. Rem turned a little and found Ashe's wrist and took a hold of it as if it was a lifeline.

"R-Rem...? H-hurt-ts..." Ashe gasped out weakly.

"I know...It's going to be alright though." said Rem, sitting next to Ashe. "You're going to be fine!"

"W-what about you? You o-okay?" asked Ashe.

"Fine, just a few scrapes and cuts as far as I can tell."

"Tha's good."

Rem patted her friend's hand, worried at Ashe's slightly slurred speech.

"Where 're we, an'way?" Ashe asked tiredy.

"I have no idea. We must have fallen a long way."

"How'd we git dow' here?"

Rem looked down at where she knew Ashe was laying. Didn't she remember?

"We got lost in the Edinburgh Vaults and were trying to find away back when the floor gave away, remember?" she said worried.

"Oh...Well 're you 'k?"

"I already told you, just a few cuts and scapes from what I can tell."

"How'd I git hurt?"

Rem's stress level soared and she squeezed her friends hand. She knew that this wasn't good. Ashe was clearly losing to much blood and there was no way for Rem to move her. Trying to at least keep Ashe awake she answered,

"You got hurt when we fell."

Ashe only hummed in reply.

"Ashe! You have to stay awake!" shouted Rem, scared.

"Why?"

"Because if you don't then you might never wake back up!"

"Bu' 'm tired. Jus' fer a minute?"

"No! We've come this far and I'm not going to lose you and I-"

Rem stopped herself short. She could have sworn she heard voices. Maybe there really were ghosts down here, or maybe there were people nearby. Holding Ashe close Rem took her chances and shouted as loudly as she could,

"Help!"

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**A/N: I hope yall enjoyed reading it! **


	2. Confusion And Golden Smiles

**A/N: ****I've had several people PM me, wondering when the girls will realize they are in Middle Earth. The answer is: They won't realize they are in Middle Earth, because they would have never known that it existed at all.** Ashe and Rem know nothing about Middle Earth. For the purposes of this story, our world does not know that Middle Earth exists. So basically there was no wonderful J.R.R. Tolkien to tell the world about Middle Earth in my story.  


**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Tolkiens.**

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Ashe's and Rem's Adventures in Middle-Earth

Confusion And Golden Smiles

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"Help!"

The sound echoed against the walls growing louder, until the air was thick with thousands of little _help's_. Rem could feel it bouncing back to her before it faded into silence.

Silence.

There was nothing down here but darkness and silence. It was thick and heavy; suffocating. Rem let a small sob slip from her mouth. Having even the slightest hope that someone was near had sent Rem's spirit soaring and now that that hope and vanished into the black silence that surrounded them. Of course it had been nothing more than her imagination, conjuring up illusions of hope and help. She should have known better. She shook her head and winced in pain as her injuries were beginning to make themselves known again and she could feel it that the one behind her ear was bleeding again. Another traitorous sob fell from her lips.

"You, 'kay?" Ashe's weak voice slurred though the dark.

"I'm fine Ashe. Just my head is hurting."

"Oh...can I sleep now?"

"No! No, you've got to stay awake!" Rem shouted.

Her head began to throb and pulse with her heartbeat and Rem felt dizzy. She wondered briefly if it was because of blood loss. She shook head to clear it and gently shook Ashe to keep her awake as well, when she heard them again. It was not her imagination, there were definitely voices nearby. Rem felt giddy and shouted for help again, regretting it immediately when the darkness around her seemed to tilt and spin. She closed her eyes against the pain and dizziness and opened them again when she didn't feel as sick.

"Waz' goin' on, Rem?" asked Ashe.

"T-t-there's help here Ashe, you're going to be okay!" Rem gasped, feeling as if her head was trying to spin completely off of her shoulders

Ashe hummed quietly and slumped again against Rem's chest. Rem, unable to hold both of their weight up anymore, fell backwards and hit the wall. Her body immediately protested and so did Ashe's if the scream that tore itself from Ashe's mouth was of any indication. Rem whispered soothing words to Ashe, trying to keep her friends mind off the pain that she had just caused, when she saw the flickering of firelight coming from a small corridor that she hadn't been able to see was there in the total darkness. She didn't even pause to consider why whoever it was that was coming down the corridor was using torches instead flashlights. She yelled again for help but no sound came out of her mouth. The world tilted sideways again and she fell hard on the ground. She was vaguely aware that Ashe had screamed again, but she didn't have the strength to pull herself back up. Rem squeezed her eyes shut as the sound of the voices echoed painfully in her ears and slipped into the darkness...

oOo

...She had been having a strange dream. She had dreamed that she and Ashe had gone exploring an, as of yet, unexplored tunnel of the Edinburgh Vaults. Thankfully it was just a dream, Rem sighed in relief and opened her eyes expecting to see the familiar cream walls of the hotel. She shot up, off her pillow in shock and fear, toppling out of the bed and falling onto the floor when the realization hit her that it hadn't been a dream at all. Her body was screaming it's displeasure at having fallen out of the bed, and the world spun several three-sixties. She couldn't hold back her whimpers and was vaguely aware that someone was lifting up her back up on the soft mattress and holding a mug to her lips. She drank without thinking and nearly gagged at the foul taste that assaulted her tongue. Her eyes flew open and she tried to spit the liquid out.

"Easy there, I know it taste non to pleasant but ye've got to keep it down. It'll help you."

The voice was calming and it put Rem at ease, at least enough to swallow the rest of the disgusting voice was calming and it put Rem at ease, at least enough to swallow the rest of the disgusting drink. She shuddered at the lingering taste and leaned her head back against the pillows and tried to make her eyes pull focus, but the world was still determined to tilt sideways. Rem closed her eyes and swallowed hard against the nausea that she felt and tried to remember how she got here. Not that she knew where _here_ was. She remembered falling, but to where they had fallen Rem didn't know. She had been hurt and bleeding but Ashe had been worse off than she was. Rem's eyes flew open. _Ashe!_ Where was Ashe? She bolted out of the bed, ignoring the pain she felt at the movement.

"Easy lass! You need to lie down! Yer injured and need to rest!" said the same voice.

Rem felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her and try to steer her back to her bed., but she held back and fought to get away. She didn't rest, she needed to know if Ashe was alive!

"Ashe?!" Rem all but screamed, though the sound came out in a harsh croak, as she pushed the hands that were holding her away.

"Lass, your friend is fine! She's right there, in the bed against the wall!"

Rem blinked and looked to the place that had been gestured at. Sure enough, Ashe was there, though the term 'fine' had been used loosely. Almost all of Ashe's body was covered in bandages, some showing faintly the scarlet underneath. Her face was pale and her breathing shallow and ragged. Rem thought that she was going to be sick and she pressed both of her hands against her mouth.

"Come now, let's get you back to your bed. You're in no condition to be up yet."

Rem looked up to see who was holding her. The ceiling met her still blurry vision. All she could do was blink confusedly and her knees began to tremble under her.

"Lass? Lass, come now. Ye cannot be up right now."

The voice came from below her shoulder. She turned and saw an hunched over old man with a long grey beard and a curling mustache, at least she thought that it was an hunched old man. Looking again she saw that he was standing straight. Rem shook her head, that would make him only four feet tall! Her eyes must just be playing tricks on her, that or she had hit her head a little too hard. But the little man wasn't important right now, Ashe was and she tried again to reach her friend. The little man sighed and finally said exasperated.

"If you see for yourself that's she's alive will you lie back down?"

Rem nodded, not trusting her voice to speak coherent words. The little man threw his arm around her waist for support and gently and easily lead her to Ashe's bed. Ashe looked even worse up close and Rem winced at the sight of her. She could now see the cuts and abrasions on her friend's face and she worried on how slow and shallow Ashe's breaths were. Her chest was barely rising and falling. The little man must have seen her worried look for he gave her arm a comforting pat.

"I've seen many injuries in my time as a healer, your friend will pull through. She looks worse than she actually is."

He smiled at her and drew Rem from Ashe's bedside. Rem didn't protest this time and followed willing back to the welcoming bed. He eased her down against the pillows and asked if she was in pain to which Rem nodded. She watched as he made his way to a cabinet and began mixing a few herbs together in a pot of boiling water. He returned and handed Rem a cup and told her to drink all of it. Rem swallowed it as fast as she could, remembering how awful the last drink he had given her. Handing the mug back to the little man she asked.

"What's your name?"

"Oin son of Groin, at your service!" he said with a bow.

"Um...Nice to meet you. I'm Rem." Oin bowed again, and Rem worked up the courage to ask another question. "Where am I?"

"The Dwarven Settlement of Ered Luin. I'm the head healer here."

Rem noted to touch of pride in his voice as he said it and she gave him a smile which turned it a yawn. Oin noticed and said,

"Good the herbs have begun to take effect. You'll feel a bit drowsy lass, you may want to try and rest again. It'll do you good and-"

"Oin," someone called from just outside the door, interrupting the healer. "Mum needs some more Valerian root and fever few. And she was was wondering if you had any more of tha-"

The someone in question crossed the threshold and stopped in his tracks and stared. Even in Rem's groggy state she noticed how handsome he looked with his golden hair even though he was maybe only six or seven inches taller than Oin. She felt a small blush creep up her cheeks and she lowered her eyes and stared at the bedding as Oin cleared his throat pointedly. The dwarf blinked and flushed scarlet, and drew his eyes away from Rem and reluctantly turned back to Oin.

"What was that you were saying lad?" Oin asked holding up his ear trumpet.

"Uhh, Mum said needs Valerian root and fever few, and maybe if you had some more of that strange salve for burns. Kili burned himself again in the forge." he said determinedly looking at Oin.

Oin grunted and went off to fetch the items, mumbling incoherently. The man's eyes strayed over to where Rem was propped up on her pillows. She kept her eyes on the coverlet and in a few minutes she heard Oin return. There were the pleasant goodbye exchanges made by the two men and Rem looked up. He was still there and their eyes met briefly. The Golden Haired man gave her a small smile and then left the room.

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**A/N: Can you blame me for turning this into a romance? Yes, you can? Oh well, it won't stop me from writing. :)**


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